Bruins Notebook: Meszaros can skip introductions

Author(s):

Steve Conroy

Andrej Meszaros sounded like a man who was coming home last night. And in some respects, he was.

The newest Bruins defenseman will be reunited with general manager Peter Chiarelli, who served as the assistant GM in Ottawa when Meszaros played for the Senators, as well as former Ottawa teammates Zdeno Chara and Chris Kelly. He also played a year of major junior hockey with Milan Lucic on the Vancouver Giants.

“It’s going to be nice to see all those guys,” said Meszaros.

Meszaros has a better shot at significant ice time on the Bruins, more than he did with the Flyers, even though he’ll have to prove he’s better than Matt Bartkowski in that spot. Meszaros was limited to 73 games in the previous two seasons combined because of Achilles, back and shoulder injuries. This season, however, he’s avoided injuries but often been a healthy scratch.

“It’s tough for any player who is not playing regularly,” the 28-year-old Meszaros said. “We have eight defenseman over here, and they were rotating us in and out of the lineup. It’s never fun. You always want to play every game, and I didn’t have the chance to do that here.

“Hopefully I can do it in Boston and as much as I really like it here — everybody was so nice to me, all of the trainers and everybody, all the guys in the room — this is a new opportunity for me, and I’m really excited. I put it behind me now, and I am going to focus for Boston and play the best that I can.”

Chiarelli suggested the defenseman’s fitness might not be quite up to snuff because of past injuries.

“It was tough with the injuries, but being healthy this year and not playing was really tough,” Meszaros said. “Now I feel strong and I feel pretty good. I can skate pretty good and join the rush and obviously have to be good defensively because defense is first, and then the offense will come obviously and hopefully I can help the guys up front and score some goals.”

Chiarelli said though he might need to get up to speed on coach Claude Julien’s zone system — he played man-to-man in Philly — Meszaros isn’t daunted by that transition.

“I think every system is different, and I don’t think it’s going to be hard for me to adjust to that,” Meszaros said. “I think I’m pretty easy. Anything the coach will tell me to do I think I can pick it up really quickly. So I don’t think I should have any problem with that.”

He said Meszaros will assimilate easily into the team’s dressing room.

“It’s an easy room to come into, and Mez is a great guy,” Kelly said. “He’s easy-going, and I don’t see it being hard at all. We’ve had more difficult guys come into our room in the past.”

Small change is good

Gregory Campbell was happy Chiarelli did not make any major moves to shake up the lineup.

“I hoped our team would stay intact, and I think everyone else would say the same thing. We’re a great team,” Campbell said. “I think successful teams are not built at the trade deadline, they’re built beforehand. They’re built for years and years of drafting, of signing different players, of putting the right players together. It’s really a difficult formula. I’m glad it’s not my job, but the guys that do it here have been very successful. They obviously have a blueprint in mind, and they’ve done a great job for a while. They know what works, and it’s been working for us. I’m a big fan of what we have here and of the character we have in the dressing room.”

McQuaid shut down

Chiarelli said Adam McQuaid, who will miss his 32nd game tonight with what is now described as a quad injury, will be off the ice for 2-3 weeks. The team hopes by shutting down McQuaid, the veteran defenseman will be healthier for the playoffs. . . .

Loui Eriksson, who missed Tuesday’s game against the Panthers, did not skate yesterday. He had been on the shelf with a minor heel infection and will play tonight.

“So no, we weren’t trading him,” Chiarelli said.

Conditions on deal

Here are the conditions on the third-round pick the Bruins traded to Philadelphia for Meszaros. The pick becomes a second-round pick this year if the Bruins make it to the conference finals and he plays in at least two-thirds of all the playoff games. And, if the Bruins re-sign Meszaros before the draft, the third-round pick becomes a second-round pick. If the Bruins re-sign him after the draft, they surrender an additional fourth-round pick the next year.

Chiarelli said there’s been no discussion about an extension for Meszaros or any of the B’s free agents.